New Orleans considers short-term rental regulation study

The Community Development Committee of the New Orleans City Council on Wednesday will discuss whether to OK a study about the regulation of short term rentals in the city.

The committee will host a hearing at 2 p.m. in the City Council chamber.

Under the proposal by Councilwoman Stacey Head, the CPC must conduct the public hearing within 60 days and complete the study within 120 days. The motion is likely to be approved by the council at its regular meeting on Thursday, according to an email from Head’s staff.

“Councilmember Head will explain this process during the (committee) meeting tomorrow, however, discussion of the motion is likely to be limited, as it serves only to direct the CPC to conduct further study and hold hearings for the purpose of receiving public input,” Lauren Hotard, director of communications for the city, wrote in the email. “Citizens are encouraged to attend the committee hearing and provide comment relative to the motion, if desired.”

The council amended existing rules last year to declare all unlicensed short-term rentals illegal. Previously, the law applied only if the property had been used as a short-term rental for a year or longer.

The law already prohibits properties from being rented for less than 60 days in the French Quarter and 30 days elsewhere in the city.

Head has also considered how to regulate operators that rent out private rooms in their homes versus an entire property. Another possibility under consideration is using short-term rentals as an incentive to compel more investors to clean up the 10,000 blighted properties in the city and bring them back into commerce as short-term rental properties.

One comment

If there’s no money to enforce these regulations, why spend money (the city doesn’t have) to do a study? Shouldn’t the city find someone (or a department) who can commit to taking this on before plunging into another study that sits with no one (and no budget) to take action on it.